Abstract: There is provided a friction stir spot joining device in which a pin can be simply and surely caused to come in or come out from a tip end of a joining tool by driving a pin extraction motor when the pin extraction motor is used so as to cause the pin to come in or come out from the tip end of the joining tool.

Abstract: There is provided a friction stir spot joining device in which a pin can be simply and surely caused to come in or come out from a tip end of the joining tool by driving a pin extraction motor when the pin extraction motor is used so as to cause the pin to come in or come out from the tip end of a joining tool. The friction stir spot joining device for softening and stirring works to be joined due to frictional heat generated by rotation of a pin so as to perform spot joining, and provided with a stirring motor for rotating a joining tool having a pin, and a pressure application motor for linearly driving the joining tool, said friction stir spot joining device further comprises a pin extraction motor which is disposed at the rear of a stirring motor on the same axis line as the stirring motor while integrated with the stirring motor.

Abstract: A tunable capacitor includes a substrate, a stationary electrode and a movable electrode supported by the substrate, piezoelectric actuators that are supported by the substrate and drive the movable electrode, and a dielectric layer interposed between the stationary electrode and the movable electrode.

Abstract: There is provided a friction stir spot joining device to eliminate the generation of tipping torque caused by a pressing force by allowing the axis of a ball screw for generating the pressing force and the center of a shaft of a stirring motor to be coincident with each other, thereby allowing the device to be downsized and the device to effect joining operation with ease. The friction stir spot joining device comprises a ball nut fixed to the rear end side the stirring motor, a hole is defined in an output shaft of the stirring motor in which the ball screw is housed from a rear portion of the hole so as to be positioned in the hole, wherein a rotating force of the pressing motor is transmitted to the ball screw and the stirring motor is moved forward and backward by the ball nut threaded with the ball screw.

Abstract: A porous hollow fiber membrane having a particle cutoff within the range of 1 to 10 ?m and a pure water permeate flow equal to or higher than 30,000 L/m2/hr/100 kPa.

Abstract: A composition containing 1,4-dihydroxy-2-naphthoic acid at a high concentration is obtained by intracellularly and extracellularly producing 1,4-dihydroxy-2-naphthoic acid using a bacterium belonging to the genus Propionibacterium and collecting it. This composition is efficacious in improving intestinal flora, alleviating abdominal ailments in association with the intake of milk, and preventing metabolic bone diseases.

Abstract: A driving unit for a pressure application shaft in a welding apparatus including a housing for housing therein a ball screw mechanism for converting rotation of an output shaft of a motor into reciprocating motion of the pressure application shaft, and a direct acting type rolling guide mechanism provided between the pressure application shaft and the housing. The housing includes a housing body which is opened at one side, and a plate for covering the opened portion. The ball screw mechanism, the pressure application shaft member, the rolling bearing which is fixed to the pressure application shaft member, and a rail combined with the rolling bearing are fixed to the housing body.

Abstract: Since components constituting a driving unit for pressure application shaft are integrally assembled with one another, and the driving unit for pressure application shaft is integrally fixed to a housing body, the precious driving unit for pressure application shaft can be obtained with ease, and consequently, it is possible to provide the precious driving unit for pressure application shaft in a welding apparatus at low cost.

Abstract: A tunable capacitor includes a substrate, a stationary electrode and a movable electrode supported by the substrate, piezoelectric actuators that are supported by the substrate and drive the movable electrode, and a dielectric layer interposed between the stationary electrode and the movable electrode.

Abstract: There is provided a driving unit of a welding equipment capable of reducing the size of the driving unit, of reducing the moment of inertia, and of being compact and having an excellent operability. The driving unit of a welding equipment provided with a pressure application shaft that is driven by a motor comprises a screw shaft provided integrally with or substantially integrally with a rotary shaft of the motor, a nut provided integrally with or substantially integrally with the pressure application shaft and is screwed with a screw of the screw shaft, and a baffling mechanism provided on the pressure application shaft, and wherein the rotary shaft of the motor is positioned substantially coaxially with the screw shaft and a rotary force outputted from the rotary shaft of the motor is converted into a reciprocating motion of the pressure application shaft.

Abstract: A gas pressure-reducing valve includes a pressure-reducing chamber for generating a gas pressure that acts on one surface of a diaphragm, a valve body that can sit on a valve seat having in its central part a valve hole communicating with the pressure-reducing chamber, and a spring biasing the diaphragm in a direction that detaches the valve body from the valve seat. A valve housing is formed by conjoining a body, a partition, and a cover. The partition forms the pressure-reducing chamber between itself and the body and forms a pressure action chamber between itself and the diaphragm. The cover forms the spring chamber between itself and the other surface of the diaphragm and has the peripheral edge of the diaphragm clamped between itself and the partition. The partition has a through hole for allowing the valve stem to run through in an airtight and axially slidable manner and a communicating hole for providing communication between the pressure action chamber and the pressure-reducing chamber.

Abstract: A porous hollow fiber membrane having a particle cutoff within the range of 1 to 10 &mgr;m and a pure water permeate flow equal to or higher than 30,000 L/m2/hr/100 kPa.

Abstract: Since components constituting a driving unit for pressure application shaft are integrally assembled with one another, and the driving unit for pressure application shaft is integrally fixed to a housing body, the precious driving unit for pressure application shaft can be obtained with ease, and consequently, it is possible to provide the precious driving unit for pressure application shaft in a welding apparatus at low cost.

Abstract: A small-sized motor is employed by a driving unit of a welding equipment wherein the inner diameter of a rotary shaft of the motor can be reduced as much as possible, and the entire length of the driving unit is reduced. The driving unit of a welding equipment is provided with a pressure application shaft. The pressure application shaft is driven by a motor including a hollow rotary shaft, a screw shaft fixed inside the rotary shaft, and a nut provided integrally with or substantially integrally with the pressure application shaft, the nut being screwed with a screw provided on the screw shaft. The rotary shaft of the motor is substantially coaxially positioned with the screw shaft. Outer diameters of the nut and pressure application shaft are respectively smaller than an inner diameter of the rotary shaft to form a direct moving guide part.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method and an apparatus, of treating wastewater containing chemical substances, which comprises passing, into a continuous phase of water to be treated that has been formed by supplying raw water from an upper part of a tower, a supercritical fluid, from a lower part of the tower, to the upper part thereof, to bring the water to be treated and the supercritical fluid in countercurrent contact with each other, thereby separating the chemical substances from the water to be treated. These method and apparatus make it possible to treat wastewater containing chemical substances at a medium concentration, for which conventionally an effective physical or chemical treatment method is not found, efficiently without involvement of any secondary pollution.

Abstract: A cover is moved to an opened position or a closed position at a back side of an opening of a cabinet. A gap in which the cover can lie down is provided between an upper inner wall of the cabinet and a disk holder placed in an insertion completing position. A first guide groove and a second guide groove, in which a first guide pin and a second guide pin projected in a longitudinal direction from the cover slide, are respectively formed on cover retaining sections provided on both side surfaces of the cover. When each guide pin is guided along each guide groove, the cover draws a substantially arc-like trajectory along the inner wall of the cabinet and enters the gap from an upper end section of the cover. When the cover draws such a trajectory, an opening of a recording and reproducing apparatus into which a recording medium is inserted can be closed by the cover regardless of whether or not the recording medium has been inserted into the recording and reproducing apparatus.

Abstract: A call line selector of a cable telephony terminal device is connected to one telephone and this telephone is commonly used by two telephone systems. The call line selector automatically selects an optimum line from CATV and PSTN lines in correspondence with a dial number input from the telephone at the calling time, thereby connecting the selected line and the telephone and thereby enabling a user to have a telephone conversation. Also, at the receiving time, the call line selector detects a reception (incoming call) signal and, in correspondence with the detected result, connects the cable telephony line or PSTN line and the telephone and rings the bell of the telephone to notify the user of the reception of the incoming call signal.

Abstract: A motor-driven resistance spot welding machine includes: a drive rod having an electrode tip on an end thereof and making a linear motion; a linear guide for guiding the linear motion of the drive rod, the linear guide including a bearing; and a reduction gear being supported by a gun arm or a gun bracket. The machine also linearly drives the drive rod in an electrode force direction by transmitting an output torque of an electric motor to the reduction gear. In the machine, a rear portion of the drive rod is connected to a swing lever through a link, the swing lever being secured either to an output shaft of the reduction gear or to a main body of the reduction gear, whereby an arcuate motion is transmitted to the swing lever by an output of the electric motor, and is then converted into a linear motion of the drive rod by the link to thereby drive the drive rod so as to apply electrode force.

Abstract: The present invention provides an optical recording medium using an amorphous-crystalline phase-change for recording and erasing, wherein reflectivity of an optical recording medium-constituting recording film in an amorphous state is larger than that of the optical recording medium-constituting recording film in a crystalline state, or wherein absorptivity of an optical recording medium-constituting recording film in an amorphous state is smaller than that of the optical recording medium-constituting recording film in a crystalline state.